A Loan Warrior
by Love of Nightmare Briar Mara
Summary: Cloud did his best to follow in his hero's foot steps. He never thought things would take a turn for the worst.
1. The Calm before the Storm

"Ahh," Cloud said as he yawned. He was getting tired of his quotidian tasks. Working at Shinra was getting boring for him. He barely had any friends in his unit to keep him company for he was a very shy young fellow. He only did his work because it was obligatory. And because he was a sycophant who wanted to impress the almighty general Sephiroth.

His stomach started to growl so he decided to grab something to eat. He stood up and walked a few feet only to trip over a neglected cord. Just as he started to fall he felt himself come to a kibosh. He looked up and saw Genesis, who had used his chest as a buttress for the clumsy boy. "Hello there" Genesis said with his usual furtive smile while running his hands through his beautiful red hair. "Hello" Cloud said back. Genesis was a verbose man. He was rife in facts and poetry. One could always hear him recite LOVELESS. He was a zealot of the famous book. "Thank you," Cloud said while moving his crystal blue eyes down to the floor and fixing his blonde hair back in place.

After Cloud thanked the man for helping him they started to walk in the direction of the cafeteria. Cloud could feel Genesis staring at the back of his head,making him feel uneasy. Once they got there they heard a vociferous voice calling their names. "HEEEYYY! CLOUD! GENESIS!" This voice was no other than the gregarious SOLDIER, Zack. Zack was a jubilant and vivacious young man. He was also a tenacious yahoo sometimes, but whenever Cloud told him this he would just laugh and change the subject. "What are you guys doing?," Zack said, moving his hands up so they rested on top of his head, clearly not seeing how much he abashed Cloud by shouting his name across the place.

"Oh, nothing important. I just came to get something to eat," Cloud said. Zack nodded at Cloud's response then looked at Genesis "Me? I came to meet up with Sephiroth and Angeal," Genesis stated. "We have some things to discuss about the new 1st class SOLDIER mission with the director." Zack looked at the red-haired man with a puzzled look. "Why was I not invited?," Zack asked. Genesis averted his eyes for a second then looked back at the younger man. "We would have invited you but your way of saying things is too... brazen." he said. This response made Zack querulous. "Wha? Why do you always have to me out?," the raven haired man said in a childish voice. "I'm sure they don't mean to," Cloud said. The two other men almost forgot that the blonde was still standing there. "Sure," Zack sighed while rolling his eyes. He long knew about the ostracism he received from the other 1st class SOLDIERs. He let his hands fall back to his sides and put his head down.

"Well this isn't like you." Zack tilted his head up to the side when he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. He met the eyes of Angeal. Seeing the fatherly figure before him cheered him up. "Sup!" Zack yelled while smiling at the other dark haired man. Angeal was kind and supportive man, but he could get angry sometimes. "Angeal. Good to see you," Genesis said. "Where is Sephiroth? I thought he said he was coming with you?" "Nope. He's occupied with something else at the moment. You know how he's been locking himself up lately," said Angeal. "Ah. Well that is not a surprise. He's been doing it for a few weeks now," Genesis added. "Ever since that lab incident," Zack exclaimed. Cloud just nodded in agreement. A few weeks ago he and the first class SOLDIERs went on a mission. They had discovered Hojo's lab and the horrible secrets that lurked there. After disposing the experiments Sephiroth started to act more seclusive.

After a few moments of silence Zack grabbed hold of Cloud's arm and started walking in the direction of the wonderful food he smelled. "Let's EAT!" he yelled. "Oh! Gen, Angeal, you guys gonna come later to my place?" Zack asked, now holding Cloud by the neck while dragging him around. "Yeah" Angeal replied. "Ya sure?!" Zack yelled again. "Even if the morrow is barren of promises, nothing shall forestall my return" quoted Genesis. With that the two groups of men then went their separate ways.


	2. The Truth that Eats me Away

Sephiroth sat alone in his office. He looked at the files scattered around his desk over and over and over again. No matter how much he wished the words on the papers would change they would not. The sight of them were eating away at his very core. Frustrated, he closed his eyes to take a break. The words _experiment_ and _perfect being_ still written on his eyelids as he slept...

While at their last mission the 1st class SOLDIERs were in charge of searching Hojo's lab. Cloud accompanied them by a recommendation from Zack. There was not a trace of Hojo or his cronies, but their experiments remained. In large tubes of glass laid different deformed organisms. Some had the shape of a human, but with limbs bent in different directions in odd angles while others were covered with spikes and had tentacles. Some dangerous looking ones were covered with fur and had extremely sharp and deadly teeth.

While the other 1st class SOLDIERs and Cloud explored the lab, Sephiroth went away and found Hojo's secret office. In the office he saw another tube that contained another being. He slowly walked up the tube. There was a plate attached to the tube but it was covered with dust. Sephiroth slid his hand over the plate and read the name. "Jenova" he whispered. He remembered that Hojo told him, years ago, that his mother's name was Jenova. And that she died long ago. Her body was said to have disappeared and returned to the lifestream a while later, but here it was. Right in front of Sephiroth.

"Why" was all Sephiroth could say. He turned to the desk near the tube saw that it was full of papers and weren't just any papers and notebooks though. They were notes journals. Some of them dating from back when Sephiroth was younger. He grabbed one of the notebooks and flipped to a random page then started to read. _The Jenova cells in Sephiroth are working perfectly. They are fusing with the Mako that I have inserted into him. He is starting to become the perfect being. The only problem is his one wing. I had the same problem with my past failed experiment, Genesis. But Sephiroth is stronger and better though. He is different. He is special. He will not become a failed experiment. He is better than the rest. He will become the perfect being._

Confused by this, Sephiroth took some of the other journals and notes and started to read them. _Year 7;Day 35: Sephiroth is doing very well today. He is more active than ever. He had so much energy. I see great things in his future. Year 14; Day 234: Sephiroth is in utter pain right now. His body has always been small. I believe it is because of the Jenova cells acting with the high levels of Mako in his blood. But today he is growing rapidly. You can hear the sound of bones breaking and fusing back together only to break again. His body's cells are constantly breaking down and repairing them themselves. The process is happening over and over again. It has been going on for a few hours now. I wounder it he will survive._

Memories started to flood into Sephiroth's head. He remembered. He remembered all those terrible hours of pain that he went through. No matter how much he screamed, no one would come to his aid. He remembered the pain he went through when Hojo tried to erase his memory. "All those years..." he whispered under his breath. "All those years that I went through such pain...and no one cared. When everyone praises me... when everyone tells me that I'm so talented...that i'm so much better the rest... they don't praise who I _am._ They praise me for _what_ I am..." Rage filled the silver-haired man. "And Shinra allowed it...they used me..." A wall of ice and darkness began to fill the man's heart. "They will pay." he said in a dark cold voice. Knock knock.

The sudden sound surprised the man but he did not show it. "Sephiroth?...Are you in there?" Sephiroth could tell that the voice was that of Angeal. He quietly grabbed some of the papers and hid them in his coat. He walked over to the door and opened it. "Yes" Sephiroth answered with a slight smile on his face. "We're done analyzing the creatures in the tubes. The director just arrived and he wants us to "dispose" of them quickly.

"Okay" Sephiroth said. Both men left the room and started down the hall where everyone else was. When they arrived at the lab the, Zack was already "disposing" the experiments. He took his blade and slashed a spiky tentacled creature. It took a few tries but he eventually managed to cut it in half. This resulted in black sludge flying out of the carcass and landing a over Zack. "Ah man..." he said. "That's what you get for not waiting like the rest of us" said Genesis. Cloud nodded in agreement as he leaned up against the wall.

Sephiroth pulled out his long blade, the Masamune, and began disposing of the other experiments. The other four men followed his actions quietly. With each new slash Sephiroth thought more and more about what he found out. And the more he thought about it, the more force he put into his attacks. "Seph! Watch out" yelled Angeal. One creature managed to slip past him and Zack. The deformed human shape figure raised a hand at the silver haired man. Claws as sharp as a razor completely extended. With just a small movement Sephiroth's blade sliced clean through the monster. For a second Cloud saw a sad look on the older man's face. Only one thought occured in Sephiroth's mind: _This could have been ME!_

Once they were done the director gave them permission to leave. "Yeah! Let's go get something to eat!" Zack yelled in his usual loud voice. "You never get tired of eating, do you" Angeal asked. "Nope!" Zack answered. "Well that IS Zack for you" Genesis said, smiling at his hyperactive comrade. While the other three men talked Cloud searched for Sephiroth. He turned his head in the direction that his hero was in to congratulate him but all he saw was a wave of long silver hair move out the door without a sound.


	3. An Unexpected Turn

"Ah" Cloud yawned once again. He was still working with the reports that he had to write about his last mission. He still has not heard anything about Sephiroth. For all he knows he could still be hiding himself in his office. He quickly organized his papers and stood up to go home. On his way out he saw a large group of people yelling and panicking at the front desk. Naturally he was curious so he went up to the scene before him.

When he got closer he noticed that some of the people were injured. Blood flowed freely from one man's side where he was clearly cut deep. Others had burn marks and were bleeding all over. "Why is he doing this?!" one man yelled. "You have to stop him" cried one woman. She was holding a child. The child laid limp in her arms. "Is Shinra responsible for this?!" someone further in the crowd asked. The one question sparked an uproar from the crowd. While looking into the crowd he saw Zack. Two people were carrying him by his shoulders in Cloud's direction. He was completely unconscious. Cloud could see cut marks all over his friend's body. Zack was so strong so Cloud never saw him injured. Looking at Zack's current state worried him. He moved out of the way so the two men could take his friend to the infirmary. He had a feeling that Zack would be okay.

Cloud went to a small child sitting at one of the chairs near the window. The child held his head down. Cloud bent down and got a closer look at the boy. "Hey little guy. What's wrong?" he asked with a concerned look on his face. The boy did not say anything at first. After a few seconds he lifted his head up to look at Cloud face to face. Cloud noticed the severe burn that the boy had received on the area of his right eye. "The general..." he cried. Tears started to flow heavily from the boys good eye. "The general...He's destroying everything. Homes...Stores..." and under his breath he whispered "...people..."

Cloud ran down the hall and quickly change out of his uniform into his usual black outfit. Once he was dressed he pushed open the emergency exit to escape outside. The sky was full of clouds and the moon slowly shined down on the earth below. Cloud walked to the parking lot and hopped onto his motorcycle and rode to town. At first it seemed like balderdash to Cloud. _Sephiroth doing such things can't be true. It must be some sort of_ ruse _,_ he thought. He then began to ruminate the past few weeks. He remembered how Sephiroth started to act. They way his eyes looked. How deep and bottomless they were. Before he even got there he could see smoke and flames consuming everything. _Sephiroth!_ Cloud thought.


	4. A Voice Through the Cloud

Cloud looked at the macabre scene that stood before him. All round him he heard cries of lamentation. The pungent smell of death lurked in the air. The city was clearly suffering from Sephiroth's wrath. Everywhere he looked there was buildings burning and falling down. A thick cloud of smoke filled the sky above. Cloud wanted nothing but to avenge the harm that came upon Zack. He could not believe that his role model was capable of causing such havoc. He always though the general was strong but humble.

Cloud began to cough uncontrollably. He inhaled too much of the noxious fumes that the fire produced. He fanned the air around him. "Cloud?..."Cloud looked around for the source of the sound. "Cloud..." He notice that the voice was coming from a collapsed building in front of him. He ran up to the rubble and started to throw rubbish in different directions. Finally he saw something pink in. He moved more junk and found the a body with the out line of a girl. It was not just any girl, it was Arith, one of Cloud's good friends. "Aerith!," Cloud yelled. He bent down and pulled the young woman into his arms.

Arith opened her eyes and looked up at Cloud. "Are you okay?" he asked. He had one of his hands wrapped around her waist for support. Arith waited a few seconds, holding her forehead with her palm. Once she was sure that she could stand up on her own she nodded. Cloud removed his hand from her side and slowly moved his hand up to Aerith's forehead. He gently moved her hand from the spot so he could check the wound. She had a small gash at the top of her head. Cloud rubbed the bloodied spot with his thumb then looked back and her.

"What's happening?" She asked. Cloud look down for a few seconds. He lifted his head up at the sky then said "Sephiroth. He's lost his mind." "Oh..." Arith said. She had a look of sadness yet acceptance. Cloud admired how she could stay calm in the most stressful situations. "Let's get you out of here before it gets even more unstable." Cloud said with a small smile. _I don't want to see her get hurt_ he thought. "Hm" Aerith said while smiling back, now directly facing Cloud, only a few feet in front of him. _My gallant_ _knight_ she walked up to help guide her safely out of the mess but came to a complete hult.

He saw a thin line of blood trickling down from Aerith's lip. He felt something sharp and cold touch his chest. He looked down and saw a long sword sticking out from Aerith's body. The blade pierce right through the girl and then quickly slid out. Arith, still smiling, fell. Her legs giving way underneath her. Cloud raced up to her. closing the few feet that separated them.

"Cloud..." the girl whispered. He looked down at her with complete fear and shock. "I'm sorry. I died." Tears began to flow gently from her eyes. "I'm sorry I couldn't help. Stay safe, okay?" She slid her hand through his hair. Cloud then grabbed hold of it held it to his cheek. The action sounded a knell not to far in the distance. He could feel the warmth of her hand slowly fade away. The pain she felt started to curtail. Her hand then fell from his face and he then knew that she was necklace she wore was no longer iridescent, for the ash had turned it completely black.


End file.
